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According to the contemporary report of Vegatius, Republican slingers had an accurate range of up to six hundred feet. The best sling ammunition was cast from lead. For a given mass, lead, being very dense, offered the minimum size and therefore minimum air resistance. Also, lead sling-bullets were small and difficult to see in flight. In some cases, the lead would be cast in a simple open mold made by pushing a finger, thumb, or sharpened stick into sand and pouring molten metal into the hole. The flat top end could later be carved to a matching shape. More frequently, they were cast in two-part molds. Sling-bullets were made in a variety of shapes including an ellipsoidal form closely resembling an acorn; possibly the origin of the Latin word for lead sling-bullet: glandes plumbeae (literally leaden acorns) or simply glandes (meaning acorns, singular glans). The most common shape by far was biconical, resembling the shape of an almond or an American football. Why the almond shape was favored is unknown. Possibly there was some aerodynamic advantage, but it seems equally likely that there was a more prosaic reason, such as the shape being easy to extract from a mold, or that it will rest in a sling cradle with little danger of rolling out. Almond-shaped lead sling-bullets were typically about 35 millimeters (1.4 in) long and about 20 millimeters (0.8 in) wide. Sometimes symbols or writings were molded on the side. A thunderbolt, a snake, a scorpion, or others symbols indicating how it might strike without warning were popular. Writing might include the name of the military unit or commander, or was sometimes more imaginative, such as, "Take this," "Ouch," "Catch," or even "For Pompey's backside."AW66458. Lead glandes sling-bullet; cf. Petrie XLIV 15-23; roughly biconical, c. 40 - 90 grams, c. 3 - 5 cm long, one sling-bullet randomly selected from the same group as those in the photo, ONE BULLET, BARGAIN PRICED!; $24.00 (€20.40)

This handle was probably once attached to a krater, a punch-bowl type vessel used for diluting and serving wine. The earliest kraters were bronze and almost exclusively the volute-type. Very few bronze kraters have survived. Most often only the handles remain.AG40492. Greek bronze krater(?) handle, height 12.7 cm (4 5/8"), ornamented with facing head of Dionysos, $800.00 (€680.00)

This bronze ring fragment is nearly identical to the referenced the ring fragment currently in The J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, California, listed in Spier Rings, as shown to the right. It is clearly the same woman depicted and they are very likely from the same engraver and workshop. The Getty Museum piece is similarly missing almost the entire hoop.

The Panther was the companion of Bacchus. The grapevine and its wild barren alter-ego, the toxic ivy plant, were both sacred to him. This handle was once attached to vessel used for serving or drinking wine.AI30971. height 8.0 cm (3"), excellent condition with a nice green patina, bronze vessel handle ornamented with a facing young head of Bacchus wearing an ivy wreath in his long flowing hair, panther skin tied at neck, the curving handle ends with a pantherhead; $675.00 (€573.75)

Likely used in some legionary application; perhaps as a lorica squamata legionary armor plate segment. AA59779. Roman, bronze repousse, 1.75 x 1.75 inches, c. 1st - 3rd century A.D.; sheet bronze hammered from behind in repousse technique to raise the figure of a centaur holding a bow, remains of two rivet holes where it was attached, tear on body, rare and interesting; from a New Jersey collection; $585.00 (€497.25)

Roman, Bronze PateraHandle, c. 1st - 3rd Century A.D.

A patera was a plate used by Roman priests to make sacrificial offerings to the Gods. Paterae were thin and most often have been lost to corrosion leaving only the handle remaining.AL59776. Roman, bronze paterahandle, c. 1st - 3rd century A.D., 5.6", heavy fluted handle terminating in a collar from which a ram's head with curled horns emerges; from a New Jersey collection; rare; $500.00 (€425.00)

This bronze ring fragment is very similar to the referenced ring fragment in the British Museum (click here to see it online).AS84167. cf. BM Collection 1917.0501.1267 (very similar ring fragment), bezel complete, 22.1 x 16.1, obverse high relief portrait of a woman facing left, draped and wearing her hair in a bun at the back (perhaps a Ptolemaic queen, either Berenike II or Arsinoe II); $360.00 (€306.00)

Italy, Bronze Axe Head, Aes Formatum, c. 5th - 4th Century B.C.

Bronze axe heads were used for exchange across Europe even before 1000 B.C. This complete bronze axe head dates much later, c. 5 - 4th Century B.C. It was never used to cut wood, but was cast to serve as currency.AS11911. Bronze Aes Formatum, Aes formatum bronze axe, 160.8g, 8.6cm, rough green patina, $250.00 (€212.50)

The lunate earring type, characterized by a solid crescentric body in a tapered bent over hoop, is the most basic and popular form of earring found in Bronze and Iron Age contexts. The earliest know were found at Ur and date to the third millennium B.C. They are very often found in hacksilver hoards, indicating that they were a bullion medium of exchange. The referenced examples and others known to Forum are all from the East and are under 2 grams. This much larger and heavier example was found in Iberia. Perhaps it was produced locally or perhaps it was brought to the region by Phoenician trade.CE84812. Hacksilver ring, cf. Gitler Hacksilber 24 ff. (Samaria, late 4th c. B.C.); Golani-Sass Fig. 10, 1 - 2 (Tel Miqne-Ekron, Canaan, 7th c. B.C.) , weight 9.468 g, maximum diameter 32.7 mm, solid silver, crescentric body in a tapered bent over hoop; $240.00 (€204.00)